


Baby Red and Blue

by Rubymoon_Snape



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Baby Keith (Voltron), Baby Lance (Voltron), Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Gen, Shiro wishes on a star, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25702387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubymoon_Snape/pseuds/Rubymoon_Snape
Summary: Shiro is tired of the fighting between Lance and Keith and wishes on a star for them to get along. His wish turns the two Paladins temporarily into babies.
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & The Blade of Marmora, Keith & Voltron Paladins, Lance & The Blade of Marmora, Lance & Voltron Paladins
Comments: 11
Kudos: 119





	Baby Red and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender.
> 
> Author Note: This is AU, where Thace, Ulaz, and Antok survived. Keith considers the BoM his pack, and they consider Keith their kit. 

"Baby Red and Blue"

Shiro entered his room, rubbing his face. He loved his team, but he was tired of having to break up fights between Keith and Lance. Just during the last hour, there were three fights that had to be broken up. He called off their training and left the training deck, leaving the rest of the team to entertain themselves. He looked out his window and saw a shooting star. A childish urge overtook him. "I wish Keith and Lance would get along." Shiro smiled slightly, feeling better now that he actually said it out loud. He decided to stay in his room for now. The last thing he wanted to do was break up another fight.

%%%

The klaxons blared, but only three Paladins arrived in the Control Room. Allura was concerned. Both Keith and Lance didn't respond to the alarm. She figured Lance may not, but Keith usually would. Fortunately, it wasn't a true emergency. They were testing the new alarm system.

"Where are Keith and Lance?"

"Since he didn't respond, Lance is probably sleeping. I don't know where Keith is though since he usually responds to the alarms," Shiro replied. "I will go look for Keith. Will someone go wake up Lance? I will bring Keith back here when I find him."

"I shall wake him up," Allura volunteered. Allura and Shiro went to get the two missing Paladins. Hunk and Pidge stayed in Castle Control with Coran.

Shiro decided to check Keith's room first, so he and Allura went in the same direction. "I hope the two of them are okay. I-" Shiro cut himself off when he heard two baby cries. The cries were coming from two different places.

%%%

Keith looked around the unfamiliar room. He was alone, but that was nothing new. He was on a bed that was a little too high off the ground though. He crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down. Maybe he could slide down and make it to the floor where it was safer. He tried to slide off the bed, but his foot got tangled in the oversized shirt he was dressed in, and he fell to the floor. It didn't hurt bad, but the fall was jarring enough to make him cry out.

%%%

Lance woke up in an unfamiliar place. Where were his mama and dada? They were usually with him. He managed to slide off the big bed he was on without much issue. He looked around and realized no one was with him. He hated to be alone, so he cried.

%%%

Allura and Shiro looked at each other and entered the two Paladins' rooms. Shiro saw a baby with longish black hair dressed in an oversized black shirt sitting on Keith's floor. The baby looked at him with tears in his large purple eyes. Shiro had a sinking feeling that the baby was Keith. He gently picked him up and cuddled him close. "Are you okay, little one?" The baby shook his head and buried his head into Shiro's shirt. Shiro was concerned. Maybe he had fallen off the bed? "Is your name Keith?" The baby nodded, which confirmed Shiro's suspicions. He left Keith's room, holding the little Paladin close.

%%%

Allura entered Lance's room and was startled to feel a hug around her legs. She looked down to see a darker skinned, brunette baby dressed in an oversized long sleeved blue shirt. He had small tears in his big blue eyes. She bent down and picked up the baby. The baby looked at her and gave her a goofy grin, reminding her of the Blue Paladin. "Are you Lance?" The baby attempted to wink and blew her a kiss. "I will assume that is a yes." Allura decided to leave Lance's room with Lance babbling a lot.

Allura and Shiro had left the rooms at the same time. They looked at the baby in the other's arms. Shiro's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Is that Lance?" Almost in response, the darker skinned baby turned to face Shiro and babbled at him, grinning all the while. The quiet baby in Shiro's arms peeked out and saw a pretty lady holding another baby who seemed familiar to him but he didn't say anything. He loved being held by the man.

Allura peered at the seemingly shy baby Shiro was holding. "Is that Keith?"

"Yes. I think they need proper clothes and diapers."

"I think I know where some are. Take Lance and head to Castle Control. Coran will want to run some scans on the two of them. I will return with some supplies." Allura carefully situated Lance into Shiro's free arm. She walked down the corridor, leaving Shiro holding the two babies. Lance looked at the man who was holding him now. He wasn't familiar, but that was okay since he just met more adults who were willing to hold him. He loved being held. He threw his arms around the man's neck, giving him a hug, babbling all the while.

Shiro started making his way to Castle Control slowly. As he was holding both babies, Shiro made a few mental comparisons. Keith was lighter and smaller than Lance. Lance was babbling a lot where the only noise Shiro had heard out of Keith was the initial cry before he entered the room.

"Shiro! Wait!" Allura came racing back up the hallway before Shiro got too far. She had a diaper in each hand. "They need these before things get messy."

They stopped by the closest room which was the lounge. Shiro set both babies down before concentrating on diapering one. Both babies were upset about being put down, but Lance was the only one that was vocal about it. "Up, up!"

Shiro looked at the little brunette. "In a little bit, baby." He laid Lance down and put on the diaper. He turned to where he had set Keith but discovered him halfway across the room, crawling, probably exploring the room. Shiro walked over and picked up the tiny Red Paladin. "Your turn."

Shiro carried Keith over to where he had left Lance, laid him down, and spared a moment to look where Lance was and saw him crawling over to Allura. "Up?"

Allura smiled and rolled up the overly long sleeves of the shirt. She picked up the brunette baby and cuddled him. "Clothes can wait a little. These two are a handful."

"I wonder what everyone will say." Shiro finished with diapering Keith and picked him up. Keith once again buried his face in Shiro's shirt. The two adults made their way to Castle Control.

Allura kept looking at Keith. "Why is Keith so shy? I've never known him to be so quiet."

"He usually is quiet. For some reason, Lance is the one who gets under Keith's skin quite easily, getting a rise out of him. But as for why he is shy as a baby, it probably stems from being in Foster Care."

"What is that?"

"Foster Care is a system where orphans end up when there are no relatives for them to go to. Foster Care is normally for families who want to adopt children. Keith never stayed with one family long enough to be adopted. He was passed from family to family until he was old enough to attend Garrison. He never told me why, and I never pried."

Allura had tears in her eyes from the tale. Lance saw the pretty lady had tears in her eyes. That wasn't right, so Lance carefully reached up and wiped a hand across Allura's eyes, trying to wipe away the tears. Allura looked at Lance, who looked concerned. She smiled at him. "You're so sweet, trying to make me feel better."

They entered Castle Control and were immediately noticed by the trio that were present. Hunk and Pidge ran over to see the babies. Coran came over as well but at a slower speed.

"Where are numbers three and four?" Coran asked.

"Who are the babies?" Hunk inquired.

"They are so cute," Pidge commented.

"This is Lance," Allura said. The baby in her arms was babbling and waving his hands.

"This is Keith," Shiro added. The baby in his arms was quiet and kept his face buried.

"Why is the little guy shy?" Hunk asked.

"Too many people probably," Shiro suggested. Telling Allura was one thing. He didn't think Keith would want the entire team knowing his past.

"Well, let's run some tests on the little ones. We can at least determine their ages," Coran suggested.

Lance looked at the three new adults. Did they want to hold him too? He decided to find out. He held his hands out to the biggest one. "Up?"

Hunk looked at the miniature version of his best friend. "Uh, sure. I guess." Allura helped Hunk hold Lance properly and securely.

Keith moved his head so he could watch what was going on but still have his face buried in Shiro's shirt. Pidge was standing by Shiro, watching her friend hold Lance. She snuck a side glance at the baby that Shiro was holding. He definitely looked like Keith; longish black hair, purple eyes, black shirt. He also looked comfortable in Shiro's arms. "He likes being held, doesn't he?"

"Most babies do. Lance comes from a big family, so he is probably used to being held."

"More than likely, but I was talking about Keith."

Shiro stole a glance at the baby in his arms. His face wasn't completely buried, but he definitely had a death grip on his shirt. "He might be shy around strangers or still a little out of it because he fell off his bed."

"That would be a big fall for the little guy." Pidge reached out a hand slowly and was able to put it on top of Keith's head. The baby whipped his head around super fast and stared at the person touching his head. His purple eyes weren't narrowed in anger like usual or wide in wonder like Lance's. It was a strange look Pidge decided. She removed her hand from his head and held both hands out. "Do you want to come here?"

Keith stared at the strange person. First, she touched his head gently, and now she was asking if he wanted her to hold him. He loved being held, but he didn't want to give the man holding him the wrong idea. He looked up at the man, almost as if asking for permission. Shiro looked down at Keith and smiled. "If you want to go to Pidge, you can. I won't be mad." Shiro gave Keith a genuine smile, which made Keith smile. Shiro carefully situated Keith in Pidge's arms, making sure she held him properly and securely.

With the two baby Paladins secure in someone's arms, the group made their way to the medical bay. Pidge and Hunk followed Coran into the medical bay with Shiro following them. Allura exited Castle Control too but went in a different direction mentioning how she was going to get clothes for the babies.

Pidge laid the tiny Red Paladin down in what looked like a bassinet. She stayed near him and watched as Hunk copied her actions with Lance. The little brunette frowned and raised his arms towards Hunk. "Up!"

"In a little bit, Lance," Hunk replied easily. "Coran just needs to scan you." He turned to face the eccentric Altean. "It's not going to hurt, is it?"

"Oh no, my boy. This is a simple scan to determine their ages and any anomalies. You all had similar scans when you entered the castle the first time." Coran twirled his moustache. He pointed a hand scanner over the raven-haired baby, who remained quiet but stared at the scanner as it passed over his tiny body.

"Keith appears to be a year old by Earth standards. He also seems to have a bit of star dust according to these readings, which is strange."

Coran repeated the motion with Lance, who actually tried to grab the scanner. Luckily, Coran was fast enough to avoid the baby's grabby hands. "Lance's readings are exactly the same, right down to the star dust." Coran stroked his mustache. "Maybe that's what happened to them."

"Star dust?" Shiro echoed. His mind played back the previous night's events. He remembered wishing on a shooting star for Keith and Lance to get along. Maybe the wish caused this? "This might have been my fault."

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked.

Shiro picked up Keith and cuddled the smaller baby, earning him a tiny smile. "Last night, I was tired of these two fighting. I saw a shooting star and made a wish for Keith and Lance to get along. Maybe the star turned them into babies in order to allow them to get along? But I don't know if they will get along. They don't seem to recognize anyone."

"It could be the answer. It would explain the star dust." Pidge looked at the results. "Maybe they will be back to normal as soon as the star dust dissipates." She held her arms back out to Keith. "Come here, little guy. Let's go see what Allura's found to dress you in."

Keith held his arms up to Pidge. The Green Paladin smiled and picked up the baby, cuddling him close. She carried him over to where Allura was waiting with a container of clothes. Pidge knelt down, setting Keith down on his feet. He was a little wobbly but immediately grabbed onto the container for support. Allura clapped her hands lightly before placing one gently on Keith's soft hair. "Good job, Keith."

Keith looked at the pretty lady in surprise. She was happy that he was standing? The baby was confused. Most people didn't care what he did as long as he didn't cause trouble. This was strange. Not only did he find people that liked to hold him, but they gave him attention.

Hunk picked up Lance and set him on his feet on the opposite side of the container; Lance immediately grabbed onto the side with one hand to steady himself. He used his other hand to dig into the container. He grabbed a blue one piece pair of footie pajamas. He held them up for Hunk to see. "You want those, pal?" At Lance's nod, Hunk dressed the miniature version of his best friend in the clothes he picked out.

Keith watched as the other baby got to pick out whatever he wanted to wear. Was he allowed to do the same? He looked at Pidge and pointed at the container of clothes with a questioning look on his face. Pidge guessed what Keith was asking. "You can pick out anything you want."

Keith used one of his hands to try to dig into the container but couldn't reach most of the clothes. Shiro noticed Keith having trouble picking through the clothes. He came over and went through the container. He kept out some clothes for Keith to choose from. Keith sat down and looked over the clothes. He grabbed at the black shirt that looked very similar to the one he was already wearing. Shiro saw this and picked out a pair of red shorts and gave them to Pidge so she could get Keith dressed. Shiro dug through the box some more and found a pair of white socks and a red and white jacket that looked very similar to Keith's regular jacket. He gave them to Pidge and saw Lance crawling over to Allura. Lance pulled himself into a standing position using Allura's dress to steady himself. "Up?"

Allura picked up the baby and cuddled him. He hugged her around the neck. Shiro smiled at the pair. "I think we should bring the pair to the lounge. It might be a little safer."

Shiro stood up and was startled by a very quiet whisper. "Up?"

Shiro looked at the miniature version of the Red Paladin. He was staring at Shiro with his arms up. Shiro picked up the quiet baby. "I guess I'll take Keith first and be back for Lance. Pidge, Hunk if you'll be in the lounge watching Keith while I get Lance, that would be great." Pidge and Hunk followed the leader to the lounge. Shiro set Keith down. "I will be right back, Keith. Stay here, and I will be back soon." Shiro left the lounge. He made his way back to the medical bay. Allura was still holding Lance, but she looked deep in thought. "Are you all right, Allura?"

"What? Oh, yes, Shiro. I was just thinking. I believe I saw a box that had some toys in it with the other supplies."

"I bet the boys would love that. I will take Lance and meet you in the lounge when you find the toys. I can send Hunk down if you'd like some help."

"That would be wonderful!"

"I will tell him." Shiro entered the lounge, holding the darker skinned, brunette baby. He quickly located the other baby. Hunk and Pidge were watching him while Shiro had gone to retrieve the second baby. Shiro set Lance down a decent distance from Keith. He knew both could crawl and probably walk unsteadily, so if they wanted to interact with each other, they would. Shiro sat down on the end of the couch nearest the two babies.

The brunette looked around the slightly familiar room. He saw the three adults he saw earlier, including the two who held him. He had loved that. He kept looking around until he caught sight of another baby. He was pale with purple eyes and black hair. He looked so familiar! Lance crawled over to the other baby. Shiro watched them intently. No one knew how they would react to each other. Lance sat down next to Keith and stared at the shy, darker haired baby. With a look of recognition, he threw his arms around him with a cry of "Keef!"

Shiro was surprised. He didn't think Lance recognized Keith. Shiro watched even closer and barely heard the smallest whisper. "Wance."

The leader of Voltron smiled as he watched the two babies. He was glad the tiny Red and Blue Paladins were getting along instead of fighting. He was concerned how quiet Keith was. Lance more than made up for that though. "Hunk, Allura needs some help carrying some things for the boys."

"Okay. I will help her." Hunk left the room.

It took no time at all for Hunk and Allura to come back into the lounge. Hunk was carrying a big metal box, and Allura had two stuffed animals in her arms. The two stuffed animals were lions, and one was red and the other one was blue. Shiro assumed they were meant to resemble the Voltron lions. Allura approached the babies who gave her their undivided attention. Allura held out the blue lion to Lance, who gently took the lion and cuddled it close. Allura held out the red lion to Keith. He hesitated and looked at Lance, who nodded at Keith. The smaller baby cautiously took the lion and held it close. Allura smiled but left the room as she had a communication with the Blade of Marmora to make. Their strongest allies deserved to know the status of Team Voltron.

%%%

"What do you mean the Red and Blue Paladins are kits?!" Kolivan demanded.

"Keith and Lance have been de-aged."

"May we see them?" Thace asked.

"I don't know. They don't seem to recognize anyone," Allura replied, not knowing that the two babies were about to prove her wrong.

Just then, the door to the bridge opened, revealing Keith crawling in with his Red Lion plushie in tow. Seeing no one near him caused Allura to hurry over to him and pick him up. She carried him back over to her platform, giving the Blades a good view of him.

Keith looked at the Blades, a look of recognition settling on his face. Before he could say anything, the door opened again.

"Keef!"

Keith turned towards the door. "Wance."

Lance looked up at the view screen at the Blades and cocked his head. They looked like cats. He patted Hunk's cheek. "Kitties."

Hunk chuckled and patted his head gently. "Sure, buddy."

Lance grinned and took it as confirmation to repeat it but louder this time and pointing at the screen. "Kitties!"

Shiro snorted in an attempt to conceal his laughter. He hadn't thought about it before, but it was true for some of the Blades. Hunk chuckled again, and Pidge just collapsed in a fit of giggles, tears streaming down her face. Allura and the Blades were confused at the term Lance used, but Keith knew what Lance met.

"No kitties."

Shiro was surprised that Keith didn't whisper. He spoke at a normal level.

"No kitties?" Lance asked.

"No kitties. Bwades." Keith turned from the slightly astonished Paladins to the Blades. "Bwades come?"

"Of course, we will, kit. We'll be there shortly."

%%%

Shiro, who was holding Keith, and Hunk, who was holding Lance, and Pidge were waiting in the hangar for the Marmoran pod to land. The tick the pod landed, Thace hurried out and over to the Paladins. Keith grinned and reach out for Thace, who scooped him up. "Kit."

Lance watched as the Blades doted on Keith, giving him gentle strokes and soft nuzzles. They still looked like kitties to the brunette baby, but Keith said they weren't. It was confusing, but perhaps they would want to hold him too. He reached out to the group. "Up?"

Ulaz gently slid the other kit into his arms. He gently nosed his hair. "Kit."

"We will need nesting materials, so we can make a nest for the kits," Kolivan mentioned.

At that exact moment, Keith let out a big yawn and snuggled further into Thace's arms, purring softly enough that only the Blades and Lance could hear it. Thace smiled and gently tucked Keith into Kolivan's arms. "Take the kit. Antok and I will locate nesting materials."

Kolivan watched his two other pack mates talk with the Black and Yellow Paladins as he securely held the tiny kit, absentmindedly using one claw to gently stroke his hair.

It didn't take too much longer before the four Blades were in a large nest with two sleeping kits. They weren't concerned about the amount of sleep the kits were getting. Galran kits needed a lot of sleep, and they assumed it was the same for human babies.

The next morning, Keith opened his eyes, which roved over the nest and landed on the Blades. He chirped to which Thace responded with a rumble. He held out his arms. "Come here, kit."

Keith crawled over to Thace and sat down next to him, his tiny fists clenching and unclenching in Thace's fur. Thace knew his kit was simply feeling the texture of his fur.

Lance woke up and looked around the nest, seeing Keith sitting near Thace. "Keef?"

"Come, Wance. Fur." Lance crawled over and felt Thace's fur, following Keith's example.

Just then, Lance's tummy growled.

"Looks like it's time for breakfast." Thace picked up both kits and took them to the dining hall, where Shiro was.

Shiro placed two bottles down and held his arms out to Lance, who reached out to him. Shiro gently reclined the brunette baby back and let him hold the bottle as he drank. Thace followed Shiro's example and let the darker haired kit lay back to drink.

Both babies tried to fall back asleep, but Shiro said, "Oh no. We need to change you two before you nap again."

Shiro walked Thace through changing the kits' diapers, verbally and showing him as he changed Lance. Thace followed Shiro and mimicked his actions to change Keith. Shiro tucked Lance into Thace's other arm and let the Blade take the babies back to the lounge for a nap, especially since they were half asleep at the moment. While the babies napped, the four Paladins went out in the lions to combat the Galra forces that were nearby.

After their nap, Keith was on his back, batting Antok's tail and giggling. Across the nest, Lance was being tossed in the air by Ulaz while Thace looked on, horrified. Ulaz assured him, "Lance is fine. He's happy."

Thace grudgingly agreed due to the giggles and squeals coming from the tiny Blue Paladin. Pidge, Shiro, Allura, and Hunk entered the lounge and sat down in the nest. All four were tired and weary due to having to fight with just four lions.

"Four lions? Wouldn't it just be three?"Antok asked.

"I am the secondary Paladin for Blue," Allura replied.

"Who is the secondary Paladin for Red then?" Kolivan inquired.

"Lance," Allura answered, attracting Lance's attention. Lance looked up but got distracted by Pidge typing on her lap top.

Keith and Lance crawled over to Pidge, dragging their lion plushies with them. Keith sat on one side and was content to watch her press keys and see things pop up on the screen. Lance was sitting on her other side but was extremely curious. He tried to reach out and touch the laptop. Instead of the sharp slap she had administered to Hunk when he tried to touch it, she simply patted Lance's hand. "No no, Lance. No touching."

Lance paused. He had very rarely heard the word and didn't know what to do. Shiro saw the issue and scooped up Lance and the Blue Lion plushie. "It's okay, Lance. Pidge is working on something that is easy to mess up. Playing there isn't a good idea. Why don't you play over here with Blue?"

Lance took Blue and babbled at Shiro. It was a mess of different sounds, but Shiro heard "Keef" a couple of times.

Shiro guessed that he was saying that either Keith shouldn't be there or he wanted to play with Keith. He scooped up Keith with his other arm and deposited both babies in front of him in the nest. He gave them both their plushies, which the babies took without issue. Lance babbled at Keith, gesturing to each of their plushies and then at Allura. Keith seemed to understand and nodded. Lance crawled over to Allura, taking Blue along for the trip, and Keith followed, bringing Red with him. The two babies stopped in front of the tired princess, who looked at them. They sat down in front of her, and Lance lifted Blue in her direction. "Bwue? 'Wura, Bwue?"

Allura cooed at the tiny Blue Paladin. He noticed she was tired and was trying to make her feel better. She didn't want to take his plushie from him, but he seemed insistent on her at least holding the toy. "Thank you, Lance. You're so sweet, but don't you want a toy?"

"Share Red," Keith spoke up. He was sitting next to Lance, and the Red Lion plushie was laying across both of their laps. The plushie's head was in Keith's lap and the tail in Lance's.

Allura's heart melted a little at the babies' generosity. They were willing to share their toys to make sure everyone felt better. It was something that Keith and Lance wouldn't have done before this. They would have made sure the team was okay, but they wouldn't be willing to share without being ordered to do so.

Just then, Keith yawned, which morphed into a chirp when he was scooped up by Antok. "Nap time, little Blade."

Keith reached out towards Lance and whined. "Wance!"

Antok paused at Keith's whine before he easily scooped up Lance. Keith snuggled up against Lance, both babies yawning. Antok set the two babies down in a blanket pile. They snuggled down into the blankets with Red between them.

Suddenly, the typing stopped, and Pidge exclaimed, "Aha!"

There was a whine from the blanket pile and soft growls from the Blades, all directed at the Green Paladin. She ducked her head. "Sorry, but I just discovered something. Keith and Lance should be returning to their regular selves really soon, since Shiro wished for them to get along and they _are_ getting along."

"What about the star dust? Doesn't it need to dissipate before they return to normal?" Shiro asked.

"It should, but according to my research, all the signs point to their return."

"Why don't we ask Coran to bring the scanner here and have him scan the kits while they nap?" Thace asked.

"I'll call him," Allura offered, still holding the Blue Lion plush. She stood up and walked over to the wall. She activated the comm system. "Coran, could you bring the medical scanner to the lounge?"

"Of course, Princess, but may I ask why?"

"We need another scan of Keith and Lance, but they are napping right now."

Coran grinned. "I'm on my way, Princess."

Allura deactivated the comms and sat back down in the nest. She gazed at the babies napping, subconsciously hugging the Blue Lion plush. Everyone was quiet as they waited for Coran to arrive. It was in the silence that a new sound was heard. It was a purring. The Paladins looked around for the source, but the Blades smiled and gazed at the still sleeping Keith, who was purring in his sleep. Galran kits tended to purr in their sleep, especially when they were surrounded by their pack.

Then, the door opened, admitting Coran. He walked over and quietly scanned the babies. He looked at the results. "Oh!"

"What is it, Coran?" Allura asked.

"The star dust is almost completely dissipated. The remaining amount is negligible. They should return to their regular selves any time now," the advisor reported.

"What should we do? When they shrunk, their clothes didn't shrink with them," Hunk pointed out.

"Well, as long as they don't return to normal during their nap, we can redress them in the t-shirts they normally wear," Shiro suggested.

"We don't want to take that chance," Ulaz stated. We can simply undress them now and cover them with light blankets."

"Do we leave them in the diapers?" Shiro asked.

"Yes, but unfasten the sides, so when they return there won't be any tearing or restrictions," Thace replied.

Shiro and Allura were the ones tasked with undressing the babies. Hunk located light blankets to cover them. Once Shiro and Allura were done, Hunk covered them, allowing a finger to gently trail down Lance's tiny cheek. The baby cooed in his sleep but didn't wake.

The pack, the Paladins, and the Alteans waited in silence to see if the two Paladins were going to wake up or return to their adult selves first. Suddenly, Keith let out a whine, curling slightly into Lance, who was twitching. Both of them were still asleep, but it was obvious that something was happening. Realizing what was happening, Allura turned around, not wanting to see the two babies grow up into their adult selves. The rest of the Paladins, the Blades, and Coran were forced to shield their eyes when a bright white light flashed. When everyone could see again, Keith and Lance were back to normal, the blankets covering their waists. The group let the two teens continue resting.

%%%

Keith slowly opened his eyes. His eyes landed on a mostly naked Lance cuddling him, and he almost panicked before the past few quintants caught up to him. He relaxed, remembering that he and Lance were getting along with each other. He just hoped they could continue getting along. He closed his eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep.

%%%

Lance groaned as he opened his eyes but couldn't see anything as his face was buried in black hair. What was going on? He lifted his head and then remembered what had gone on during the past few quintants. He and Keith had been babies and had finally gotten along. He put his head back down against Keith's head. He was still tired.

%%%

Shiro had noticed that both teens had woken up briefly and that they remembered what had happened. They both had gone back to sleep. Now, that they were back to normal, he probably should collect their clothes so they could get dressed when they decided to get up.

%%%

It wasn't much longer after Shiro collected Keith's and Lance's clothes that Keith woke back up, followed by Lance. Each one sat up, their blankets pooling at their waists. Keith looked around and saw his pack was there with the rest of the Paladins. To his left, Lance was looking around too. "Lance?"

Lance looked at Keith. "Keith."

Keith hugged Lance. "I'm sorry."

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith. "No. I'm sorry, Keith. I started a rivalry with you that damaged any chance of a friendship with you. I want to be friends."

"I'd like that, Lance, but can we get dressed now?"

Lance blushed when he realized that they were naked aside from the blankets around their waists. They unwrapped their arms and were pleasantly surprised to see their clothes sitting beside them in a folded pile. Everyone else in the nest closed their eyes, giving the teens some privacy to get dressed. Keith and Lance turned their backs to each other and pulled on their clothes. They turned around when they were pulling on their jackets.

"Okay. We're dressed," Lance announced. Everyone opened their eyes to see the two teens settling back down into the nest, still side by side.

"Do you guys remember anything?" Shiro asked.

Lance grinned. "Oh, I don't know about Keith, but I remember _everything."_

Keith smiled at Shiro. "I remember everything too. Thank you, everyone, especially you, Shiro."

"What are you thanking us for? We didn't do anything," Hunk questioned.

"You did more than you think," Keith said softly. Suddenly, he was tugged over to the Blades, Thace being the one who dragged him over. "What's going on?"

"Shiro told us a few things, kit. Is there something you want to explain?"

"Not particularly, but I guess I do owe you guys some sort of explanation." Keith took a deep breath. "I'm an orphan. My mother left me when I was a baby, my father died soon after, and I was sent into Foster Care, which is a system where orphans end up when there are no relatives for them to go to. Foster Care is normally for families who want to adopt children. I never stayed with one family long enough to be adopted. I was passed from family to family until I was old enough to attend Garrison."

Thace whined at Keith's explanation and the blunt, unemotional tone it was said in. Antok wrapped his tail around Keith's waist and pulled him onto his lap, nuzzling his head. Thace, Ulaz, and Kolivan shuffled a little closer to their kit. Thace groomed his hair, Ulaz rumbled to Keith, and Kolivan rubbed his back. Feeling his pack doting on him made Keith feel relaxed, and he started purring.

Lance smiled at Keith. He was glad that he had been de-aged alongside Keith. He felt like he was able to understand his teammate better, and that was important for being the defenders of the universe.

Fin


End file.
